Continental shelf A continental shelf is a surface that is found under the sea and close to the shoreline. Therefore, the continental shelf is the part of the continent that is cover by the ocean before it reaches great depths. We can say that the continental shelf is the submarine continuation of the continents. Here, we can encounter a great fishing ground and a significant source of food making the continental shelf very important for the economy.
An article from the encyclopedia Britannica (2013) states that continental shelf is “a broad, relatively shallow submarine terrace of continental crust forming the edge of a continental landmass. The geology of continental shelves is often similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent, and most shelves have a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale. Continental shelves make up about 8 percent of the entire area covered by oceans.” The continental shelf differs significantly in size, the shelf usually extend as far as 1500 kilometers (930 miles) along others. On average the continental shelf is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 130 meters (425 feet) deep at its seaward edge. This measurements start on the coast and ends when it reaches the continental slope. In some areas continental shelf is not present and do not have a defined break in slope but rather preserve a generally curved form to the seafloor. An article from the encyclopedia Britannica (2013) states that continental shelf is “a broad, relatively shallow submarine terrace of continental crust forming the edge of a continental landmass. The geology of continental shelves is often similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent, and most shelves have a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale. Continental shelves make up about 8 percent of the entire area covered by oceans.”
Peaceful Regulations of Ocean Space.
As mentioned in the article continental shelf from the world of earth science, from Gael (2003). “The shelf's gentle angle and fairly flat topography are the consequence of erosion and sediment deposition through the fall and rise of the sea over the shelf in the last 1.6 million years. The variations in sea level were affected by the advance and retreat of glaciers on land over the same time period. During the last glacial period (approximately 18,000 years ago), sea level was 300–400 ft. (90–120 m) lower than present and the shoreline was much farther offshore, exposing the shelf to the atmosphere. During lowered sea level, land plants and animals, including humans and their ancestors, lived on the shelf. Their remains are often found at the bottom of the ocean. For example, 12,000 year old bones of mastodons, extinct relatives of the elephant, have been recovered off the coast of the northeastern United States.”
German Research Foundation (2009). Antarctic Expedition (2007-2009)
Continental shelves are typically covered with deposits of sand, silts, and silty muds. But in areas where the sea level is depressed and the shelf has no contiguous high elevations, the rivers begin to erode their shelf beds carrying sediments from the continent across the former continental shelf that is now exposed and deposited at the new coast. Continental shelves represent about 7.5 percent of the total ocean area. And its economical and political importance is attribute to its great contents of mineral deposits including large reservoirs of oil and natural gas.
A continental shelf is a surface that is found under the sea and close to the shoreline. Therefore, the continental shelf is the part of the continent that is cover by the ocean before it reaches great depths. We can say that the continental shelf is the submarine continuation of the continents. Here, we can encounter a great fishing ground and a significant source of food making the continental shelf very important for the economy.
An article from the encyclopedia Britannica (2013) states that continental shelf is “a broad, relatively shallow submarine terrace of continental crust forming the edge of a continental landmass. The geology of continental shelves is often similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent, and most shelves have a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale. Continental shelves make up about 8 percent of the entire area covered by oceans.”
The continental shelf differs significantly in size, the shelf usually extend as far as 1500 kilometers (930 miles) along others. On average the continental shelf is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 130 meters (425 feet) deep at its seaward edge. This measurements start on the coast and ends when it reaches the continental slope. In some areas continental shelf is not present and do not have a defined break in slope but rather preserve a generally curved form to the seafloor.
An article from the encyclopedia Britannica (2013) states that continental shelf is “a broad, relatively shallow submarine terrace of continental crust forming the edge of a continental landmass. The geology of continental shelves is often similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent, and most shelves have a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale. Continental shelves make up about 8 percent of the entire area covered by oceans.”
Peaceful Regulations of Ocean Space.
As mentioned in the article continental shelf from the world of earth science, from Gael (2003). “The shelf's gentle angle and fairly flat topography are the consequence of erosion and sediment deposition through the fall and rise of the sea over the shelf in the last 1.6 million years. The variations in sea level were affected by the advance and retreat of glaciers on land over the same time period. During the last glacial period (approximately 18,000 years ago), sea level was 300–400 ft. (90–120 m) lower than present and the shoreline was much farther offshore, exposing the shelf to the atmosphere. During lowered sea level, land plants and animals, including humans and their ancestors, lived on the shelf. Their remains are often found at the bottom of the ocean. For example, 12,000 year old bones of mastodons, extinct relatives of the elephant, have been recovered off the coast of the northeastern United States.”
German Research Foundation (2009). Antarctic Expedition (2007-2009)
Continental shelves are typically covered with deposits of sand, silts, and silty muds. But in areas where the sea level is depressed and the shelf has no contiguous high elevations, the rivers begin to erode their shelf beds carrying sediments from the continent across the former continental shelf that is now exposed and deposited at the new coast. Continental shelves represent about 7.5 percent of the total ocean area. And its economical and political importance is attribute to its great contents of mineral deposits including large reservoirs of oil and natural gas.
References
Continental shelf. (2013). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://libproxy.atlantic.edu:2108/EBchecked/topic/134970/continental-shelf
Continental Shelf. (2003). In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), World of Earth Science (Vol. 1, pp. 124-125). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3437800129&v=2.1&u=mays40776&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=5d9fada0c1ca93141cfdeaeb6dbf8304
Continental Shelf. (2007) YouTube. Retrieved November 1, 2013 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGh1hLXojno
Peaceful Regulations of Ocean Space. In Grid Arendal. Retrieved from http://www.grida.no/publications/shelf-last-zone/page.aspx?d=4688
Guillermo Velasquez